Note: Javascript is disabled or is not supported by your browser. For this reason, some items on this page will be unavailable. For more information about this message, please visit this page: About CDC.gov.

Rates by Race and Ethnicity for Other Kinds of Cancer

Cancer Rates by Race/Ethnicity and Sex

The rate of people getting or dying from cancer varies by race and ethnicity.

Incidence Rates by Race/Ethnicity and Sex

“Incidence rate” means how many people out of a given number get the disease each year. The graph below shows how many people out of 100,000 got cancer each year during the years 1999–2014. The year 2014 is the most recent year for which numbers have been reported. The cancer incidence rate is grouped by race and ethnicity.

The graph below shows that in 2014, among men, black men had the highest rate of getting cancer, followed by white, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), and Asian/Pacific Islander (A/PI) men. Among women, white women had the highest rate of getting cancer, followed by black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.

Sources: CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries and National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program.

*Rates are the number of cases per 100,000 persons and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population (19 age groups – Census P25–1130). For more information, see the USCS technical notes.

†Race categories are not mutually exclusive from Hispanic origin. Rates are not presented for persons of unknown or other race. Data for specified racial or ethnic populations other than white and black should be interpreted with caution. For more information, see the USCS technical notes.

¶ Data are compiled from cancer registries that meet the data quality criteria for all invasive cancer sites combined for all years, 1999–2014 (covering approximately 97% of the U.S. population). See registry-specific data quality information for all years, 1999–2014. Use caution when comparing incidence and death rates because of potential differences in population coverage.

§Invasive cancer excludes basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin except when these occur on the skin of the genital organs, and in situ cancers except urinary bladder.

Behavior recode for analysis used for 1999–2014 individual years.

Death Rates by Race/Ethnicity and Sex

From 1999–2014, the rate of people dying from cancer has varied, depending on their race and ethnicity. The graph below shows that in 2014, among men, black men were more likely to die of cancer than any other group, followed by white, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander men. Among women, black women were more likely to die of cancer than any other group, followed by white, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander women.

Graph Data

All Cancer Sites Combined
Death Rates* by Race and Ethnicity,† Male, United States, 1999–2014§

Year

All Races

White

Black

Asian/Pacific Islander (A/PI)

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN)

Hispanic

1999

252.8

247.1

349.2

152.7

171.9

173.1

2000

248.5

243.4

341.2

149.6

158.6

172.1

2001

245.0

240.3

334.1

149.3

165.7

171.6

2002

241.6

237.6

325.8

141.5

153.7

169.4

2003

235.8

232.2

314.6

141.7

153.5

164.9

2004

230.3

226.6

307.3

141.3

160.5

161.1

2005

228.1

224.9

300.3

138.4

161.5

164.8

2006

222.6

220.0

290.2

132.5

148.3

155.5

2007

219.3

216.6

286.6

135.6

153.7

153.4

2008

215.3

213.2

275.3

133.6

153.5

153.0

2009

211.2

209.3

268.9

131.4

134.8

150.0

2010

208.8

207.2

264.1

129.5

150.4

148.6

2011

204.3

203.3

253.6

125.6

136.1

146.0

2012

200.5

199.9

247.2

122.6

129.2

142.8

2013

196.4

195.9

240.3

120.7

133.9

139.7

2014

193.6

193.6

234.1

116.9

132.1

137.7

Graph Data

All Cancer Sites Combined
Death Rates* by Race and Ethnicity,† Female, United States, 1999–2014§

Year

All Races

White

Black

Asian/Pacific Islander (A/PI)

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN)

Hispanic

1999

167.2

165.9

197.5

102.6

114.1

111.7

2000

166.7

166.0

193.2

99.3

109.4

110.2

2001

164.6

163.8

192.1

99.6

118.6

110.0

2002

163.4

162.6

191.4

97.5

119.1

109.1

2003

161.2

160.4

188.8

98.4

111.4

108.6

2004

157.9

157.4

183.5

93.8

114.8

104.6

2005

156.5

156.0

180.9

96.7

110.1

105.7

2006

154.6

154.5

177.3

94.6

112.9

104.6

2007

152.0

151.9

175.5

92.0

106.8

102.2

2008

149.3

149.4

170.4

92.0

106.7

100.7

2009

147.1

147.5

167.4

89.8

103.1

100.2

2010

145.7

145.9

166.2

92.3

101.8

98.6

2011

143.5

143.4

166.0

90.8

94.0

97.6

2012

141.8

142.0

161.7

90.3

99.7

99.2

2013

139.2

139.8

158.5

85.4

94.7

97.2

2014

137.9

138.6

157.0

86.2

89.1

96.0

*Rates are the number of deaths per 100,000 persons and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population (19 age groups – Census P25–1130). For more information, see the USCS technical notes.

†Race categories are not mutually exclusive from Hispanic origin. Rates are not presented for persons of unknown or other race. Data for specified racial or ethnic populations other than white and black should be interpreted with caution. For more information, see the USCS technical notes.

§Data are from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS). Data for death rates cover 100% of the U.S. population. Use caution when comparing incidence and death rates because of potential differences in population coverage.